Hootbro
11-05-2000, 06:02 AM
On Friday 3 Nov, I stopped by Global Trade with the intention of buying a barreled action assembly. Ron the owner of Global with a warm welcome greeted me. I sat in his office and was shown one of the new SSR-85C rifles and fell in love. After doing the math, I figured that it was better in the long run just taking the plunge and getting the whole rifle at once for dealer cost of $469.99. I talked with Ron for a while about the AK business, and he was very pessimistic about the future of Global with the recent import ban. When I asked about the quantity of kits on for his rifle builds, he commented that he had enough for about 2000 rifles left. He said they are producing the SSR series at a rate of 20 units per day. With my math, this gives about 100 days of production that will probably end sometime after the first of the next year. If you are hesitating about getting one, do not! These rifles will not last long. After my conclusion of conversation with Ron and the purchase of my rifle, I finally met Jimmy going out the door who was just coming back from the range testing the newest batch of rifles. My brief conversation with Jimmy gave me the impression that he is straight up and honest person, very pleasant to deal with.
Anyway, I have just returned home with my new rifle in hand and will give you my quick review and impressions of the rifle. First, I bought the SSR-85C model with the Polished Milled AK barrel assembly. While heaver than the AKM barrel rifles, I felt it to be a little more solid of a rifle IMHO. The rifle comes packaged in an Arsenal USA white box. The rifle was wrapped in plastic and placed in preformed Styrofoam inserts. Included with the rifle was an owner’s manual, tube type cleaning kit, Bulgarian 5 round waffle magazine, trigger lock, sling and certificate of federal compliance from Arsenal USA/Global. The sling is real cheap with plastic hooks that will not last beyond normal range duty. The tube cleaning kit is the standard issue type, but is really useless because of the butt stock not having a trap door. The trigger lock is a Bulgarian made knock off copy of the master trigger locks but seems to be molded to fit the AK trigger guard better.
Now for the review of the rifle, this thing is about one of the most beautiful rifles out of the box I have ever seen. The park job is one of the best I have seen on any rifle. Leaps and bound above any Romak or SAR park job that is on the market right now. The wood is excellent and matching and installed very tight with no wiggle. The FSE US made pistol grip is a little off but does not detract from the overall appearance. Total fit and function is top notch. The owner’s manual lists the following items as US made:
1. Pistol grip
2. Carrier piston
3. Muzzle brake
4. Hammer
5. Trigger
6. Disconnector
So this means that any magazine or drum can be used with out having to worry about US magazine parts. Trigger group parts all have FSE USA marked on them. I cleaned and inspected the barrel, I found that the barrel is like new with no muzzle wear and rifling in about 95%+ new condition. Throat erosion appeared to be nominal. Mounting hardware for the butt plate and rear swivel appear to be commercial wood screws and not military type common head screws. I do not know if Arsenal/Global did this in Hungary or when the rifle was built. Recoil guide included a polymer recoil buffer. Another plus I noticed is that the rifle’s serial # is matched to the #’s of the Polish kit used to make the rifle and is marked on all major parts. Overall, I am very happy with the rifle as of now. Since I have not had a range trip with it, I will hold final judgment till then, but I really expect no trouble then. Sorry for the long rant but I am very excited about this rifle. I have enclosed pictures below.
Enjoy,
Hootbro
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=245437&a=9771192&p=32381590
Click here for more pics.
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=245437&a=9771192
[This message has been edited by Hootbro (edited 11-05-2000).]
Anyway, I have just returned home with my new rifle in hand and will give you my quick review and impressions of the rifle. First, I bought the SSR-85C model with the Polished Milled AK barrel assembly. While heaver than the AKM barrel rifles, I felt it to be a little more solid of a rifle IMHO. The rifle comes packaged in an Arsenal USA white box. The rifle was wrapped in plastic and placed in preformed Styrofoam inserts. Included with the rifle was an owner’s manual, tube type cleaning kit, Bulgarian 5 round waffle magazine, trigger lock, sling and certificate of federal compliance from Arsenal USA/Global. The sling is real cheap with plastic hooks that will not last beyond normal range duty. The tube cleaning kit is the standard issue type, but is really useless because of the butt stock not having a trap door. The trigger lock is a Bulgarian made knock off copy of the master trigger locks but seems to be molded to fit the AK trigger guard better.
Now for the review of the rifle, this thing is about one of the most beautiful rifles out of the box I have ever seen. The park job is one of the best I have seen on any rifle. Leaps and bound above any Romak or SAR park job that is on the market right now. The wood is excellent and matching and installed very tight with no wiggle. The FSE US made pistol grip is a little off but does not detract from the overall appearance. Total fit and function is top notch. The owner’s manual lists the following items as US made:
1. Pistol grip
2. Carrier piston
3. Muzzle brake
4. Hammer
5. Trigger
6. Disconnector
So this means that any magazine or drum can be used with out having to worry about US magazine parts. Trigger group parts all have FSE USA marked on them. I cleaned and inspected the barrel, I found that the barrel is like new with no muzzle wear and rifling in about 95%+ new condition. Throat erosion appeared to be nominal. Mounting hardware for the butt plate and rear swivel appear to be commercial wood screws and not military type common head screws. I do not know if Arsenal/Global did this in Hungary or when the rifle was built. Recoil guide included a polymer recoil buffer. Another plus I noticed is that the rifle’s serial # is matched to the #’s of the Polish kit used to make the rifle and is marked on all major parts. Overall, I am very happy with the rifle as of now. Since I have not had a range trip with it, I will hold final judgment till then, but I really expect no trouble then. Sorry for the long rant but I am very excited about this rifle. I have enclosed pictures below.
Enjoy,
Hootbro
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=245437&a=9771192&p=32381590
Click here for more pics.
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=245437&a=9771192
[This message has been edited by Hootbro (edited 11-05-2000).]